Serbia has started to withdraw forces from Kosovo border, US says

WASHINGTON

Serbia has begun to draw down its massive military buildup along the border with Kosovo in a positive step toward reducing regional tensions, the US administration said Tuesday.

"Since we stated publicly that we had seen Serbian forces on the border, we have also seen them start to move those forces away, and that's a good thing," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "That will help de-escalate the tensions. It won't eliminate them, but it'll help de-escalate them."

Kirby last week sounded the alarm over the "unprecedented" military deployment, saying it included advanced artillery, tanks, and mechanized infantry units.

The State Department also said Tuesday that the withdrawal began on Sept. 29.

"We expect Serbia to continue de-escalatory steps, including continued withdrawal of forces to or below historical norms," spokesperson Vedant Patel said.

Late last month, a clash broke out in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo near the Serbian border when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks. A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving one police officer dead and another injured.

Serbian authorities announced earlier Tuesday the arrest of Kosovo Serb politician Milan Radoicic, who led the armed Serbian group that clashed with Kosovar police on Sept. 24.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the armed Serbian group was led by Radoicic, who later accepted full responsibility for the events in the village of Banjska in northern Kosovo, which caused enormous tensions between the two neighboring countries.

The area has been the scene of unrest since April, when local ethnic Serbs boycotted elections in northern Kosovo, followed by protests against the election of ethnic Albanian mayors.

Albanians are by far the largest ethnic group in Kosovo, followed by Serbs, with about half living in the country's north.

Kirby said last week that the "troubling cycle of sporadic violence has gotten worse" in recent months, and said last month's attack was "well-coordinated and planned" with the assailants using about 20 SUVs to transport "a weapons cache of alarming quantity and sophistication."

"This is not the kind of attack it's carried out randomly, or ad hoc, or by some small group. The amounts and the types of arms that were found represent a threat to the safety of not only Kosovo personnel but international personnel, including NATO troops," said Kirby.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and gained recognition from many countries, including Türkiye. But Belgrade has never recognized Kosovo and claims the territory as its own.

*Iclal Turan contributed to this report from Washington.